


Pretty Visitors

by MysticSpiral



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Darcy and Loki watch Frozen, Emotional Trauma, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Build, jane and thor are cuties, more angst than fluff, way too many pop culture references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-24
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-14 12:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2191230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticSpiral/pseuds/MysticSpiral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set roughly six months after the events in Thor 2.</p><p>Loki is still believed to be dead, and everyone is gathering in Asgard for Jane and Thor's wedding, including Darcy who starts noticing odd things that just don't add up.<br/>With not much else but wedding planning to do she starts to investigate, only when she finds a diary that belonged to a young Loki she isn't quite sure she wants to keep looking...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On London time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic is going to be told in alternating POV's, but I'm going to try not to repeat any scenes unless it's important to see the other characters perspective.  
> I have most of the chapters written already so I'm just going over them and tweaking little bits, and I'll upload probably a few times a week.  
> I think there will be roughly 25 chapters, and it'll be a pretty slow built.  
> I haven't put up a warning thingo yet cause I'm not 100%, but I know there won't be any non-con, self harm or super graphic violence.
> 
> There will be angst cause angst is fabulous :3  
> I hope this hasn't spoilt too much for anyone, just wanted to give some warning.
> 
> Thank you so much if anyone reads it, you're wonderful!  
> It's all unbeta'd at the moment, so I'm sorry in advance if there's any mistakes I missed.  
> Criticism/comments are welcome, but please be merciful as it's my first fic up here..

It had been a slow day at the Darcy residence, she spent the day on the couch watching Buffy re-runs and ignoring the list of things Jane left for her to do. Jane, Thor and Selvig had been on Asgard for the last week enjoying what was meant to be a romantic getaway but Eric insisted he had to see the bi frost and some other scientific stuff he was mumbling about. Thor of course bellowed about the more the merrier and even extended an offer to Darcy, as much as she'd like to see Asgard the unnoticed looks Jane was sharply giving Thor was enough for her to take a rain check, one unwanted stowaway was enough.

She was about to get up and order some fish and chips, one of her favourite parts of them staying in London was the 'chippy shops', specifically the one across from them who were 6th on her speed dial, when her phone started ringing from somewhere under a couch cushion.

"Jane? How's Asgard? And how the hell do you have reception?!"

"It's great, actually I have some news and- oh that, it happened as a side effect of the convergence, but I guess it stayed on...had no problems calling New York either."

"Damn, I lose service if I walk under a street lamp. So what's the news, amigo?"

"Right, okay, well...uh so don't freak out, but Thor proposed and I said yes!"

"Oh wow...I thought you were going to say the cheese there was purple or something, that is big news."

"Yeah, and I know it's soon but in the last three years I've seen giant metal men who shoot fire from their faces, an alien invasion in New York and Elves that tried to create a universe wide darkness. I love him, you know and it just feels right."

"I don't know how, but that was both bleak and uplifting at the same time...but I'm happy for you both, you guys both deserve a wonderful life together. I mean, preferably with me living in a granny flat out back stealing your wifi and avoiding my responsibilities, but we sort the details out later."

"We'll I'm sure we can sort out something...God it's nice to talk to you though, everything's so surreal right now and I feel so out of place here, it's good to joke with you."

"C'mon Jane, chin up...You're on another realm, you just got engaged to the hunky god of thunder and I'm pretty sure you’re going to be a queen, or royalty at least? You're living the dream!"

"That's the dream? It's oddly specific don't you think?"

"Ha, very funny! You know what I mean. So have you thought about a date yet?"

"We'll that's actually what I was going to ask you, the wedding anniversary of Thor's parents is in about two months so we were thinking then, but I was hoping you'd come here and help me plan everything?"

"Oh my god, I am so in! Wait that sounds like a maid of honour, you don't mean..?"

"We'll they don't actually really have those here, but yeah that's essentially what I'm asking you. What do you say?"

"So I get all the hard work without the cool title? Figures. How soon can I be there?"

"Thank you, Darcy, I really mean it. Thor says we should be back in a couple days. I'll text you."

"Okay, sounds good. Talk to you later"

"Bye, Darcy."  
\---

Darcy spent the next few days trying to get through Jane’s list (she really should have started that sooner), tidying up the flat, organising the lab and making sure their mail was sent to their P.O box and not there. So it wasn't the most exciting time, but she couldn't care less soon enough she was going to be in Asgard. Like another realm, an alien planet pretty much. One she could hopefully explore, and even if that wasn’t possible she’d still see things most people wouldn't even dream of seeing in their lifetime. This was like Doctor Who stuff, granted without the TARDIS, hunky time lord or robotic dog, but she’ll have to make due; be her own Doctor.

She was nearly finished packing when she got a text from Jane telling her to be awake in the morning by 8 to leave, followed by a joke about how impossible that would be. She looked back at the texts she’d gotten from Jane after their call.

Monday, 6:58pm.  
From: Lady Jane  
Message: So I just wanted to say thanks again, properly. It means a lot that you’re coming out to help; it’ll be really nice to have a friend here with me.  
I think Asgardian weddings are pretty huge so it might be busy, and a lot of hard work, but we’ll have some fun too. There’s some stuff here I really want to show you. Like the biggest library you’ll ever see, you’ll love it! Oh, but they don’t have any Harry Potter though I’m afraid... 

Tuesday, 11:23am.  
From: Lady Jane  
So we just finished this insane breakfast/brunch ‘banquet’ more like feast I say, but it was crazy. Also remember Thor’s friends in New Mexico? Well let’s just say I think I’ve found someone who may just be able to match your hot wings appetite!

Tuesday, 11:24am.  
From: Lady Jane  
Message: Oh and I forgot to say, they don’t have any form of purple cheese here and apparently that was an odd question to ask...but they do have these little lavender cakes that literally taste like heaven, and kind of like a blueberry jam pop-tart, weirdly :)

Wednesday, 3:41pm.  
From: Lady Jane  
Message: Hi Darcy, just messaging to say we’ll be coming back tomorrow sometime, I’ll message you when I find out a time. Also you won’t need to pack too much because they have a lot of stuff here and I think they prefer if we use their Asgardian clothes anyway. See you soon. Oh did you remember to call the post office?

She’d missed Jane the last week or so, if someone had told her three years ago that her dorky boss from a temporary unpaid internship would end up being such a big part of her life she would have laughed, but it was true. They'd been through a lot together and grown to become good friends.  
After New Mexico Darcy had stayed on as their intern for another three months, then it was her graduation, and Jane and Selvig even came and cheered her on, but they went their separate ways for a little while after that.  
Darcy moved to New York for a job as a junior in a political campaign company, it was mainly getting coffee and making copies, but it was experience and it paid the bills. Jane and Erik stayed in New Mexico searching for a way to reach Asgard and Thor, but then Erik was recruited to work for S.H.I.E.L.D in New York, and Jane’s emails stopped abruptly. Then before she could march into Stark tower demanding answers, New York was in pieces thanks to Thor’s psychotic brother, Loki.

Most things returned to normal soon after that, but the company and her job wasn't one of them. So she flew to England to meet up with Jane and Erik, Jane had apparently been moved to protective custody somewhere in Europe and Erik went back to Sweden after everything that went down in New York to find some peace. Then all ended up back together though, and they’d been living in London, searching for Thor ever since. It wasn't always easy though, some days she wanted to tell Jane maybe they should stop trying, that maybe there was a reason Thor went back to New York, but not to Jane. She never did though, it might have been selfish but she thought if they stopped searching that they might not need Darcy any more and she didn't want that. For the first time in her life she felt like she actually had a family, an odd, dorky and slightly dysfunctional family, but a family none the less.

As Darcy fell out of her nostalgic trance, she scoffed at her past self for thinking that she was just an intern to Jane and Erik, she wasn't their intern, she was their friend.  
She finished packing the last of her stuff, she wasn't sure if she’d have anyway charge her laptop, or that she’d even have any spare time, but she chucked it in her duffle. After debating it for a few minutes she decided to throw caution into the wind and add seasons 5 and 6 of Parks and Rec that Jane had gotten her for her birthday too, she was way too far behind on her shows.  
She threw in a couple of extra sweaters and some toothpaste. What? She didn't know how Asgardians operated, what if they just rubbed mint leaves on their teeth or something? Thanks, but no thanks.  
After finishing she pulled on some bed socks and climbed under her mountain of covers. She fell asleep with a smile on her face; this was going to be a great adventure.


	2. As I Fall

Chapter 2:  
Darkness. A consuming, infinite darkness. It was worse than the stories they were told as children. Tales of burning flesh and decaying bodies, a never ending torture. Except there was no burning or decaying, no dark corners of the galaxy filled with fire, or crushing rock. There was only darkness and cold. The cold did well to remind him of Jotunheim, of his despicable origins, of the lies he was fed his whole life, and mostly importantly of what he’d done to Thor, and Frigga and even Odin. After Loki fell through the stars and the swirls of colours made up by nebulas, he stopped falling. He was simply floating in darkness, unable to see a thing. He thought it was going to last forever, that he would spend the rest of his eternity alone with nothing but the sound of Thor yelling his name in desperation as he chose to let go. However fate proved to be not so sweet when a new noise rung in his ears, a new voice, the voice of Thanos.

Suddenly, Loki was pulled from his mind and plunged back into reality when he heard a loud knock on the door to his chambers.  
“Yes, you may enter.” He commanded.  
“Allfather, I wish to speak with you of an important matter.” Thor spoke after a guard at the door had let him in, not wasting any time with small talk.

“What do you wish to tell me, Thor?” Asked Loki, feigning interest.  
“Last night I asked for Jane’s hand in marriage and she agreed. We wish to receive your blessing; I know you do not take too fondly of Jane because she is of Midgard, but your approval would mean very much to me- to us.” Thor said earnestly.  
“Thor, it is not that I dislike Jane, but I do not wish to see you hurt. We both know you will outlive her by far and then you will be alone, by that time I may too be gone and it will be up to you to take over Asgard. I know this is not what you want, and I have come to terms with that. I will continue to be Asgard’s king for now but it cannot be that way forever, eventually I will fall into a permanent Odin sleep and you will need to take responsibility for this kingdom.” For the most part it was easy for Loki to keep up with the charade, Thor spent most of his time on Midgard with his mortal woman and he was the only one left who knew Odin and Loki well enough to sniff out foul play. He did have to stay on guard around Heimdall and Sif though, who were the most perceptive of his old relations. Conversations like this with Thor were the most difficult though, he needed to agree with Thor; he wanted Thor to marry Jane and live on Midgard so he could continue to rule over Asgard, but he also knows Odin never would have accepted this, so if he does too easily Thor might begin to question. He had to keep up a convincing balance but he was sure he could do it; this was Thor we’re talking about. He’ll admit Thor is the fiercest warrior he’s known and he’s always been full of compassion, even more so now, but Thor’s never been the most observant demigod out there.

Loki was once again pulled out of his own thoughts when he realised Thor had continued talking.

“I understand my responsibilities and what will eventually be mine and Jane’s fate, and when the time comes I will become Asgard’s next king. For now though, Jane is my priority, and my love. We will wed, in preference, with your blessing.” Thor was firm, but hopeful.

“I will give you my blessing. I can see the love you two share, and I can see even without my blessing this will be happening anyway. As long as you understand what will eventually be, and know this is your decision and yours alone.”

“I understand, father”. Thor said with certainty.  
“Then that’s that. I assume you wish to have the ceremony on Midgard?”  
“Not at all, we wish to be wed here, with a large ceremony for everyone to attend!” Thor bellowed, “Actually, we were hoping to have it in some months, on the same date as yours and mothers once was. I think she would like that, it would be like she was still a part of it somehow.” Thor was suddenly looking down, and Loki stiffened at the mention of his mo- Frigga. Despite the lie their relationship was built on, Loki only has fond memories her and he has to agree with Thor, he thinks she really would love that a happy memory would share place with her old one.  
Fine then, they would have the wedding here and it would be large and filled with people, food and happiness. For Frigga, because she could not be here, because it’s his fault she could not be here to see Thor wed. He will help Thor have the biggest wedding all the nine realms have ever seen, and hope that she sees it too and can maybe forgive him, even though he does not deserve it.

“I think she would like that too. We had better start planning then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a really short chapter, I was having trouble figuring out how to do Loki's POV well..  
> I'll post the third chapter today, and then start posting once every few days because they get longer soon.
> 
> Thanks so much to anyone who reads/has read it! It's the first fic I've had the courage to put online :)


	3. Past Musings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Asgard Darcy finds a strange book, that turns out to be a diary..

Darcy woke suddenly when she heard the obnoxious and unrelenting sound of...is that the X-Files theme song? At...ugh 7am? What the hell? She grabbed her phone to turn off the alarm, but jerked up right immediately when she saw the name and remembered just why she had set the stupid thing in the first place...She was going to Asgard today! To say she was exited was an understatement; she jumped out of bed and grabbed her already laid out ‘perfect alien planet outfit’ and practically bounded to the bathroom. Okay so maybe her favourite sweater, jeans that made her butt look great and a pair of comfy but cute cargo boots wasn't exactly special or out of the norm even, but she was way to hyped up to care. Since she had meticulously packed all her stuff and got everything ready the night before, she took a shower twice as long as she normal would and let the steaming water wash over her body. When she finally got out she was practically a prune, but she felt great and her hair smelt like pomegranate and rose. She quickly put on a little foundation and some blindingly sharp winged eyeliner. Aside from knowing that you’re going to be travelling to a different planet, the best start to a day is getting your eyes looking fabulous and symmetrical, or at least that had always been Darcy’s policy, and it hadn't failed her yet.

By the time Jane and Thor showed up she was sitting at their outdoor table waiting, pop-tarts in hand.

“Wow, I gotta admit I’m kind of surprised you’re up and ready.” Jane said, in mock awe.

“Oh I was born ready for this, Lady Jane.” Darcy smirked, she knew Jane hated when she called her that. She offered out a pop-tart each for Jane and Thor, “I made extras.”

“Eh, I’m good we just had another major feast for breakfast and then travelled here; don’t think my stomach could handle it.” Jane said, and she did look a little queasy.

“Then I must do the honours and take Lady Jane’s tart of pop for her.” Thor stepped in with a proud look on his face.

“The way he says things like that you’d almost think he’d adjusted to human life and was actually being sarcastic, but then you realise he’s not, he’s just a giant dork from space who thinks he’s being a hero for eating one extra pop-tart.” Darcy said jokingly, while Jane tried not to laugh. 

Thor just smiled at them both.

\---

The ‘ride’ to Asgard was insane, it was like being in the wormhole thing at the beginning of Who, but even more colourful. It felt like she was going through a tubed water-slide, uphill and instead of water there was a literally a rainbow. It felt like ages too, not hours or anything, but at least ten minutes, but when they got to the other side it hadn't even been one. Oh yeah, and then there was the other side as well, the ‘Bifrost’ thing was amazing, it was like nothing she could have ever imagined, it was a large, golden spherical building, full of shinning lights, gold walls and levers, and of course topped off with a golden adorned gatekeeper.

“Okay wow, this place is so freaking awesome! Everything’s all bright and blinding, it’s like we stepped onto the enterprise, y’know what I mean? Lens flares much?” Darcy said to no one in particular while wondering around caressing the walls.

Thor looked confused, and Jane just rolled her eyes fondly. “If you think it’s great, just wait until you step outside.” Jane said with a knowing smile that was enough to snap Darcy out of it and have her moving, practically running actually, out of the Bifrost. Though she wasn't nearly prepared enough for what she saw. It was literally the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. It was like every little thing was ten times more stunning than on earth, the water was pristine and the most inviting shade of blue, the trees were made up of vibrant greens, hell even the sand was freaking sparkling. Then she started walking along the rainbow bridge, her eyes trailing the ground. If she had thought the ride there was colourful, she had no idea what to call this. It was like a pathway of shining crystals. Just when Darcy thought nothing could top it off, there were the buildings themselves. The main dwelling (uh more like castle of dreams, actually) looked a lot like the brass pipes of an organ, only more delicate and beautiful, with spanning balconies and windows. As she got closer she got the feeling they weren't brass, but more likely the same gold the decorated the Bifrost. It was like a freaking fairytale city and she could barely handle it, for the first time in a very long time Darcy Lewis was completely speechless.

\---

Once they entered what could only be described as a palace, Jane showed Darcy to her room, it was a fair while away from Thor and Jane’s, but it was right near a small library room. Jane was definitely to thank for that, however she got the feeling it had more to do with her wanting privacy for Thor and herself, than for Darcy’s love of books. Her room itself was also nearly as wonderful as outside. It kind of reminded her of the suite at Caesar’s her and some college friends saved up for and drove out to on one of their birthdays. Obviously it was more authentic, like was that real silk? Shit, yeah that was real silk. Note to self: Don’t spill anything on the bed. Actually, don’t spill anything at all. Hell, don’t even move, or breathe, just in case you manage to break something. Just as she was about to bellyflop onto the bed and roll around in the luxurious sheets, Thor walked through the open door and invited her to the lunch feast.  
On the way there Darcy couldn't help but ask Thor, more like babble at him actually, about everything on Asgard.

“Do you seriously live like this? I mean I knew you were a king and all, but I didn't know it was so...regal. Was that real silk back there? Does everyone have that, or is it just saved for annoying and abrupt Midgardian guests? And how the hell do you survive on earth with us in a tiny London flat after living in this awesome place?” Darcy stopped rambling to get a breath in.

“Yes this is how we live, and not everyone has silk sheets, though that isn’t silk, or Earth silk at least, but we make sure all our people are well looked after. I enjoy Midgard because Jane is there with me, but I also like yours and Erik’s company.” Thor answered honestly, with a smile, but before Darcy could respond they reached the dining quarters. She was quickly introduced to everyone, Lady Sif and the warriors three she recalled, but there were many new faces to remember.

“You must be the young Lady Darcy, I am Fandral and these are La-“

“Yeah I remember you guys from New Mexico, kinda saved the town and my butt too, so thanks for that” Darcy cut him off before she heard their full names introduced for another time, but she smiled widely so they knew she was at least trying to be polite.

“Well I'm not sure what you posterior has to do with that but you’re welcome, I am glad no one was injured heavily. Would you like to sit here? I hear you have an impressive appetite, one that could even rival Volstagg...that I would like to see.” He winked and pulled a chair out for her to join him.

Just as she was about to roll her eyes at him but sit down anyway, the loud sound of two large granite doors opening distracted her, they were the same as the ones she entered through only on the other side of the room. A tall older man, who she assumed was Thor’s father, strode towards them and took the seat at the head of the table. The feel of room changed quickly, what were lively and boisterous debates, were then quiet and careful conversations. Darcy waited for Odin to address everyone, or for anyone to say anything for that matter, but instead he looked at her.

“Fandral leave the poor girl alone, she doesn’t want to hear any of your rude come-ons.” The smirk immediately disappeared from the blonde god’s face, and Darcy laughed.

“Poor girl? C’mon this isn’t Mean Girls, Regina.” She joked as she sat down, but she immediately regretted it, because everyone stopped what they were doing and the room went silent, though she was pretty sure she heard Jane stifle a laugh. She was silently thankful that Jane was the only person who would have understood that reference. She thought if the ruler of Asgard found she was comparing him to someone defending another person’s ‘muffin being buttered’ she might have fainted. Darcy risked looking up again, only to see the older man still staring at her intently. Thankfully Thor broke the awkward silence by insisting everyone dig in, so they did and after a few minutes everyone seemed to relax and talk amongst themselves.

“What was that about?” Darcy sort of whispered to Fandral and Sif, who were on either side of her.

“That’s Odin, which you probably realise. He’s been a little off since his wife Frigga passed, understandably obviously, but we’re just not sure how to act sometimes now. We generally don’t joke, if that’s what that was?” Sif whispered back, Fandral nodding along with her.

“Oh, Okay. Yeah, I guess should have learnt by now from Thor that Midgard humour is very, very different than here.” Darcy replied, and then started digging in like everyone else, but she couldn't shake a strange feeling, even though when she looked up Odin was concentrating on his plate and not her.

\---

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly; Darcy left lunch earlier than everyone else and grabbed several books on Asgardian magic from the library and spent the rest of the afternoon in her temporary bed. Two of the books detailed the origins of magic, another was a guide to see if you were capable of even learning magic (sadly Darcy was not) but the last book was the most interesting, it was simply a thick, leather bound notebook. Darcy hadn’t even realised it wasn’t a proper book, she just grabbed as many as she could carry and left. The library was quite eerie, it was obvious it was more of a private library just for those in the main quarters and clearly no one in there was all that interested. Makes sense really since there was a huge public library practically the size of Puente Antiguo just outside the main quarters, or so she was told at least, she definitely wanted to find out for herself.

She opened the dusty notebook and started reading...

_Property of Loki Odinson._  
 _Do not touch. That means you Thor._

Holy shit. Holy shit. This was Loki’s notebook. It was probably from when he was a teenager, given the neat writing but childish sentiment towards Thor. Wait did gods even have teen years? Or did they have like two hundred years worth of them? WAS THAT REALLY THE ISSUE HERE LEWIS?! This was Loki’s. As in the person who nearly destroyed her home town. Who did destroy New York, where she was living at the time. Who had killed hundreds of people, three of which she knew. Who left her without a job, an apartment and three friends. Not to mention everyone else’s lives he ruined. Hell, she watched him try to kill his own brother using a giant ass metal dude. The question was should she read it? She didn't have any reservations about invading his privacy, for obvious reasons, but did she really want to see what sort of sick things were floating around his head when, even he was a child? Would this disturb her? Scar her for life? What the hell. She’d seen Human Centipede, couldn't get much worse than that, could it?

Only it could, just not in the way she was thinking. He wasn't a monster, at least what she could see from this. He was a kind and quiet, yet mischievous young kid, with a huge amount of ambition and drive to become a great king. Darcy was only about a quarter the way through, but he actually seemed like the kind of guy she would have befriended in high school. It wasn't just a list of spells either; it was almost like a diary..

_Today I grew a sunflower out of thin air for my mother. I’m not sure how I did it this time, normally when I make something appear there is a process and procedure, but this just sort of happened. She looked a little upset and it just sprouted from the palm of my hand, she said it was the power of love but I don’t know it seems a little far-fetched, even if I do love her._

There was even a scribbled drawing of a sunflower. This really wasn't good, but she couldn't help but keep reading.

_It’s been a week since I've been changing Thor’s hair with magic while he sleeps and he still hasn't noticed. It’s so funny, though I sort of wish I had someone to laugh about it with I fear if Thor finds out he will be mad, and I know the others only engage me if Thor’s around, but it’s okay. I think today I will add a few inches and make his hair a shade lighter, I doubt he will even notice._

Even his writing looked sad. This was terrible; she was starting to feel bad for him...

_Thor and I went into battle with father for the first time yesterday, it was horrific. Three men did not make it home. Father told me not to use magic when I fight but I don’t know any other way, I am not strong like Thor. Father says kings must be brave and powerful, not cunning and sneaky like me. I fear Thor will become King and I will not. I want Thor to be happy but what else would I even be if not a king?_

That was enough for Darcy to read today, it was just too much to see how human Loki was, well human for a demigod. She looked at her phone: 4:30pm, she decided to have a quick nap before dinner considering they were starting all the planning bright and early tomorrow. She put the other three books on her dresser, but kept Loki’s under the pillow on the other side of the bed. For some reason she felt very protective over it, like she had to keep it safe because it was the only thing left that showed he was once good.

This was all hitting a little too close to home...


	4. Gone for good

Loki spent the morning how he spends most morning, in Frigga’s garden. It wasn’t so much a garden as it was a small meadow far from the main building. It was plain, mostly grass with a small field of sunflowers. No one ever came there, but it was where Frigga had taken him after he made her one that day. From then on it was their little place that no one else was allowed, they used to practice his magic mostly, but sometimes they would just bring out a basket of bread, fruit and cheese and sit and talk. Frigga understood Loki better than anyone; she knew what it was like to have powers instead of strength, she wasn’t alienated because of them like he was, but she understood him and that was enough.  
  
At first he worried that if he spent too much time there Heimdall might become suspicious, but that worry was soon disputed after a conversation in the Bifrost one evening.  
  
“Allfather, what brings you here?” Heimdall asked.  
  
“I just wish to see how Thor is fairing on Midgard, he has been there for months now and that is his longest trip.” Loki responded.  
  
“He does well; he lives with Jane and her housemates. He helps with her studies, and tries to understand Midgard customs, mostly unsuccessfully. At the moment he is helping Jane’s younger friend do the washing up after their lunch. They laugh together.” He answered.  
  
“That is good. Thank you Heimdall, that will be all.” He started to walk away.  
  
“My liege, I do not wish to overstep my bounds, but I see you go to the garden Frigga used take Loki to very often.” He spoke quietly, but firmly.  
  
This caught Loki completely off guard. Did Heimdall know? Surely not, he’d been so careful. Just because he spent most of his time in his dead mother’s garden didn’t mean Heimdall would realise he’s an imposter, right?  
  
“It helps me feel closer to her, and Loki too. Of all the wrong he has done, when he was there he with her he was a happy and innocent child. It brings me peace.” He replied not looking at Heimdall, hoping it seemed as if he just did not wish to speak of it.  
  
“Of course. I just wished to say I think it would make her happy that someone is still making use of the land, that it has not been abandoned.” He suggested.  
  
“Thank you. I am glad Frigga is still in the hearts of the people.” With that he left before he could slip up. Talking about her was not something he wished to do. It was his fault that she died, he should have been there to protect her and not imprisoned.  
  
\---  
  
By the time he returned to the main building he was already late for lunch, as he walked up to main hall he hovered just outside to listen to the conversations everyone was having. Thor was loudly detailing everyone on the ways of Midgardian life, though his mortal woman had to cut him off to correct him a few times, this made Loki smirk. Then he heard a voice he did not recognise, a dry and blunt woman who didn’t hesitate to cut off a demigod mid sentence. This turned Loki’s smirk to a smile.  
  
“Fandral leave the poor girl alone, she doesn’t want to hear any of your rude come-ons.” He announced loudly as he entered the room. Suddenly everyone in the room went still, except for the girl who was chucking at Fandral’s sudden expression change. She had thick, dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders and though it was mostly covered up he could see her figure was more than well endowed. She was truly striking, for a mortal girl at least. She seemed to notice him looking at her and just smiled and said something that definitely got his attention.  
  
“Poor girl? C’mon this isn’t Mean Girls, Regina.” She joked, sitting down.  
She looked around the room and her smiled faded as she noticed everyone completely freeze at her comment. He didn’t understand what she meant, but there was no mistaking her tone, that was a jest meant for him. He was impressed that she was daring enough to speak in such a way to Odin; if he didn’t have to keep up the appearance he would take pleasure in banter with her.  
  
“Let us all dig in, my friends and comrades!” Thor bellowed, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  
The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and started speaking to Fandral and Sif in a hushed tone. He stole several glances at her over the course of the meal, she tried a small amount of everything and smiled and nodded as she was spoken to, but looked uncomfortable the most part. She left early and this left Loki strangely disappointed.  
  
\---

  


Most nights Loki couldn’t sleep at all, and this night was no different, but something was. For once he wasn’t seeing Frigga’s face as he betrayed her trust, or Thor’s as he let go, or the worst of all; infinite darkness being broken up by Thanos’ rough and twisted laugh.  
No, what was keeping him awake was a different laugh, a laugh that was infectious and unapologetic and it belonged to cascading brown locks and light, ivory skin with rose frosted cheeks.  
He didn’t even know why this silly mortal girl had taken hold of his attention quite so; she wasn’t anything special, probably not even on Midgard, let alone on Asgard. Yet still she alone occupied his mind that night.  
  
He tried to shake his thoughts of her, this was no time to be getting distracted. He needed to think of a plan. Being king was starting to become unsatisfying and not as he dreamed it would be, not like this anyway. He didn’t want to rule over Asgard the way he did on Midgard, he’s not even sure that’s what he wanted there. He wanted to earn his respect and admiration and be the type of king his father once was, but there was no way to do that disguised as Odin. Everyone already both respected and feared Odin, and most people were still worried how to act around Odin so avoided him completely. For this all to have been worth it Loki needed to show the people who he was and have them see he was worthy king, but that could never happen. The minute the people find out that he was Odin the whole time they’d rebel against him and Thor would banish him, or even kill him.  
  
Maybe he really wasn’t meant to be king; maybe he'd lost his chance at it meaning anything now. He’d thought about leaving, finding somewhere else to rule. Jotunheim had crossed his mind once or twice, Laufey was now dead and he was his son. Did that make him the heir, but the heir of what? A desolate wasteland covered in ice?  
Maybe it was his punishment for everything he’d done, to spend the rest of his eternity with other monsters just like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, I'm sorry! I swear the start getting longer soon :)  
> There wasn't too much excitement in this one, but things start happening very soon..
> 
> Thanks for everyone who is reading it!


	5. Chocolate cake: Part 1

It wasn’t uncommon for Darcy to wake up in the middle of the night panicked and covered in sweat, but there was something different this night. Everything in her usual nightmare had turned the deepest, most piercing shade of green she’d ever seen. The screams of horror, the desperate attempt to the escape the danger, the look of complete and utter insanity; it was all green this time. She didn’t want to think about why.  
She searched for her phone in sheets. Ugh, 11:23pm. She slept through dinner and was now starving. Jane probably saw her asleep and left her to catch up on rest. She walked to the bathroom to wash her face and cool off, she was about to brush her teeth when her stomach starting rumbling heavily. Maybe there was something left on the table? There was some bread and fruit there before lunch when she walked past on the way to her room. It was worth a shot she thought as she crawled out of bed and headed for the door.  
Luckily for her there were still dinner rolls and a couple of bowls of fruit. She took three dinner rolls and an apple and started walking back to her room. She noticed a line of paintings on the wall, there were several older people she didn’t recognise, but then she saw the man from today, Odin and a beautiful woman with golden curly hair who must have been Frigga. She kept walking along and found Thor, she couldn’t help but giggle at the big idiot sitting on a fancy red chair looking whimsically into the distance. It was the last painting that made Darcy stop in her tracks though, she’d never seen Loki in the flesh but she immediately recognised him. She thought even if she hadn’t seen flashes of him menacing New York on the TV, she’d still be able to tell it was him. He looked not much younger than how she’d seen him on the news, but given how old Thor is it could be hundreds of years apart. She stood there for a good five minutes just staring at him immortalised on the canvas, she was so consumed that she didn’t hear someone walking up to her.

“Why are you staring at that?” She turned around to see Odin standing there in what must have been Asgardian sleepwear, he looked far less intimidating than he did at the table, he even looked a little vulnerable.

“Oh...uh I’m sorry I was looking for a snack and uh...I guess I got distracted.” She mumbled, feebly holding up the food in her hands in explanation.

“You became distracted looking at a painting of Loki? Why?” He asked in confusion.

“I just...He looks so normal. Like do you ever wonder why? Why he did it all?” When he continued to stare at the painting without responding she continued, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offend you. It just makes me think I guess. Thor doesn’t talk about it much. Jane met him once and she doesn’t talk about it either, but she did tell me that he risked his life and nearly died to save her, and then died saving Thor. I don’t understand why someone who obviously cares for his family so much would also do so much to try and hurt them.”

“Did Loki’s actions affect you? I’m sorry if they did.” He said without looking at her. He was steering the conversation away from him to her, Darcy had learnt about this in her psych classes.

“I think his actions affected everyone in some way; big or small. I guess I was one of them, but it wasn’t that bad for me.” She shrugged. “I just want to know what makes people suddenly tick, go off the rails like that. It probably doesn’t happen so much here, but it happens a lot on earth, people just finally having enough of it all and taking down whoever they can with them.”

“No, we don’t have a lot of that. We have different problems than on Midgard, and we try to work together to make sure everyone has it fair. So it wouldn’t make sense for the one person to take it out on many strangers, because they’ve probably been helped by them, or helped them sometime in the past. We also live a lot longer than mortals, so when we have a problem to face we have longer to deal with it and fix it, helps us to persist and beat our demons, or at least endure them.”

“I’d like that. An eternity to figure how what to do with your life, we get a couple of years max without any experience to help us and we have to decide how the rest of our lives will go. Most people only have enough for one shot, if that, so god forbid you screw up.” Wait, should she have said ‘god forbid’ to an actual god? Or a part god at least? Oh no, he was looking at her now. Could he tell what she’s thinking? It looked like he could tell. Or was he just confused as to why a random mortal was eating all his food, staring at his dead son and complaining about her life. Yeah that was probably it, and why was she doing this? She didn’t know this old dude, but she was pretty sure he didn’t even like her.   
She was pulled out of her internal mini-panic when he starts talking.

“Are you unhappy with your chosen life path?”

Darcy thought about it for a moment. She wasn’t unhappy with it, it didn’t turn out at all how she planned, but she couldn't say she was unhappy.  
“No. I mean if you asked me five years ago if I thought I’d be living in a too small flat on the other side of the world with two mad scientists and a Norse god I would have laughed and joked that being president would sooner happen, but here we are. Sometimes I think it sounds like a sit-com; two scientists, an intern and the god of great abs try to tackle London, one crumpet at a time. Crumpets are really great by the way. Do you have them here? We didn’t have them in America I don’t think, if we move back I think I’ll have a suitcase of those and galaxy bars. They’re so good, like the silkiest chocolate ever. Wait do you even have chocolate here? Please tell me you do or you’re a just missing out big time buddy. Okay now I’m rambling uncontrollably, I need to stop. What was I even saying? Oh right, like is this all really happening? I mean how is this all happening? It can’t be right? Am I really just sitting in an institution somewhere and I just formed this whole thing in my mind as some sort of coping mechanism, it seems more probable really. I mean Norse gods?” Darcy finally stopped to take several deep breaths after her rant; she looked over to Odin who just looked completely lost at this now. “Uh never mind me. Earth talk, am I right? Anyway I should probably head back. Sorry I took all this bread.”

After flapping her arms and the food around once again she turned and started to walk away when a cold hand gently grabbed her shoulder.

“Would you like a better snack? There’s cake in the fridge. I sometimes have cake late at night.” He offered, looking uncomfortable and unsure of himself.

“Sure. I love cake.” She smiled, Darcy had never been one to turn town a good slice of cake. Plus, she was actually enjoying the company, even if it was a little awkward.  
\---  
They spent the night sitting at a bench in the kitchen slowly eating away at two large slices of a wonderfully rich and moist chocolate cake, and talking about nothing in particular. It was actually oddly nice, talking to a complete stranger through the early hours of the morning. Before either of them had realised the sun was coming up, the day was upon them and the kitchen staff were starting to set up awkwardly, not sure what to do or say.

“Yeah, definitely time for bed. If I stay awake any longer I’ll sleep through dinner again and I really wanna try Asgardian dinner. You guys probably have turkeys the size of cow or something.” She tried to diffuse the awkward with a joke, but it was only met with blank stares. To be fair it wasn’t her best stuff at all, but now it was definitely her cue to leave.

She managed to get in a few hours in before Jane woke her up to let her know it was time to get ready and start on the plans. They spent the day planning for the wedding. It was actually lot of fun; they joked around, tried on different Asgardian style gowns and ate so many different appetisers neither could fit in dinner. Which worked out well for Darcy because at that point she was so tired she might have just fallen asleep on Jane while wearing a puffy mauve gown with armour-like shoulder pads.

When she finally got back to her room she fell asleep instantly, and for once stayed asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are going to start getting more interesting and into the main plot now, the chapters are also getting a lot longer too (2000-3000ish words) so I'll only update once or twice a week now..
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading!  
> Over 600 hits now! I know that's nothing compared to a lot of other fics out there, but I really didn't expect much and I am so pleasantly surprised :3
> 
> So again, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


	6. Chocolate cake: Part 2

As Loki walked out of the kitchen, glass in hand, he noticed someone slowly walking out of the main dining hall. He was about to say something before they could leave when they abruptly halted, apparently staring at the wall. As he drew closer he realised they weren't staring into nothing, they were observing their family portraits. In fact they were staring intently at his frame, and it wasn't just anyone, it was the mortal girl from earlier.  
Why was she just standing there staring at a hundred year old painting of him? He thought at first maybe she was staring out of disdain for him, but she didn't look angry or disgusted, she looked mesmerized. He kept waiting for her to leave or move on, or even notice he was behind her, but she didn't she just kept gazing at him. Suddenly he felt vulnerable by the situation; it was like she could see something in the painting, in him. Whatever the reason, he needed her to stop.

“Why are you staring at that?” He said, the words barely audible.

She turned to face him and it was the first time he was able to see her up close, really see her. Even though it was dark he could still see how beautiful she was. Her hair was tied behind her loosely, untamed strands falling around her face, her lips were full and rich and her eyes were alluringly dark. She ignored the Asgardian clothing left in the room for her in favour of an old shirt that was falling apart and clearly too big for her. It had faded writing on the front that read ‘Dwight you ignorant slut’. He didn’t understand for a second what it was referencing but clearly it was a favourite of hers. She had loose purple pants tucked into fluffy animal slippers; she looked completely out of place. Her expression changed from calm to shocked, flustered and bright pink, as if just realising what was happening. She started rambling about snacks and distractions, pointing at the painting with a dinner roll. He almost let a smile sneak across his face at that.  
Then he realised what she was saying. The painting of him had distracted her? Why? She started talking to answer his question and then it was like she couldn't stop. She spoke about him and wanted to know why he did it all, she was so curious, like it was something she truly needed to know, and not just about him but about everyone who had fallen down the same path of inanity. She spoke of what he did for Thor and Jane, and she spoke of what he did to her city. She spoke of her own life and if she was happy, and then she started talking very fast about things he did not understand except chocolate and ‘god of great abs.’ He couldn't tell if he was amused by or jealous of. Both were undesirable states to him.

Before he could tell her that no chocolate could beat Asgardian chocolate, even if it was named after a galaxy, she got up and started to walk away. He didn’t know why he did it; he felt a need to keep talking to her, to keep listening to her talk. 

“Would you like a better snack?” What was he doing? He sounded like Fandral, not to mention he still appears as Odin. It was ridiculous, but too late to go back now. “There’s cake in the fridge. I sometimes have cake late at night.”   
She just smiled brightly and accepted his offer.

\---

“Whoa that’s a huge cake! It totally looks like the one off Matilda, and I guess that solves the mystery of Asgardian chocolate...There’s only one question left, which is better? Which realm’s candy will be the ultimate champion? The game is on!” She was giddy with excitement; it was a bold contrast to the dry sarcasm he had heard earlier.

“Shall we dig in then?” He asked as his leant down to pick up some plates and cutlery.

“Are we allowed to eat it though? I mean it’s not missing any yet? Is it for tomorrow or something? It even has fruit on it and stuff; we can’t cut into the fruit can we?!” She was almost distressed and he couldn’t tell if it was more to do with getting in trouble, or not being able to have any cake.

“We’ll be fine. One of the perks of being king is unlimited access to cake without any question or judgement.” He even let himself give her a small smirk.

“Wait, did you just make a joke? I thought jokes were off limits, if I had known this I wouldn't have been holding back all of my comedy gold!” She jested.

“If you've been holding off thus far then I seriously fear for what’s in store...” He returned slyly.

“And another? This going to be great!” She smiled at him.

\---

It turned out it was in fact great. They talked for hours, or more so she talked and he tried to keep up with what she was talking about, which was considerably difficult when she started talking at a superhuman speed about mortal things he could not comprehend. That aside, it was somehow peaceful, he could simply enjoy her company without worrying about how he was meant to be acting. She was the last person who would figure out he wasn't Odin, she had never met him or Loki, he could be exactly as he wanted and she wouldn't be able to tell either way. So that’s what he did, he laughed at her jokes, and listened when she talked about Jane, or the best type of pop-tart, or why Doctor Who was ‘fantastic’ and everyone on Asgard should be forced to watch it. He was so relaxed and fixed on the sound of her voice that he didn’t realise how late, or early actually, it had gotten until people started filling into the kitchen around them. 

\---

He spent the rest of the morning in the grand hall, reading at the head of the table.  
Eventually food was brought out and people started to awaken and join him, though he couldn't help but notice Darcy was not one of them.   
In the end she did come to join them, walking along side Thor and Jane. However she was still in her sleep attire with her hair even messier than the night before, it was clear unlike him she had actually managed to get some sleep.  
“Father, good morning!” Thor bellowed, making a big deal as he sat down. “I am sorry we are so late, I thank you for not eating without us.” Jane gave Darcy a look when Thor mentioned being late, and she just picked up a goblet and stared into it guiltily. Loki tried not to roll his eyes at how rowdy and boisterous Thor was.  
“Then my friends, Let us begi- WAIT WHY IS THERE SOME CAKE MISSING?” Thor, suddenly surprised, became ever louder if possible. At this Darcy started coughing into her drink, either trying not to laugh, or cry. Everyone turned to her in unison; he couldn’t help but laugh at her baffled, speechless expression, but thought it best to put her out of her misery.  
“That was me I’m afraid. It looked too good to resist.” He stated, and the table look at him surprised for a moment then continued eating. When everyone was preoccupied he flashed Darcy a small smile, one which she returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really too much to mention about this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it and have a fabulous day :3


	7. To new friends

Apparently Thor wanted to take Jane to see another realm for the day, leaving Darcy free of wedding planning and the rest of the day to herself. Her first instinct was to explore every inch of Asgard, but her body told her otherwise. Despite catching up on sleep she was still groggy and drained, she wanted nothing more than to lie in bed and make good use of her crappy laptop and still unopened DVD’s. Except she forgot just how crappy her laptop was, she’d had it since high school and it showed. It was missing three keys, only one of the USB ports still worked and it had to be charging at all times to function, which was proving difficult when in another realm. She moved the laptop from her knees and hopped off the bed, searching the walls for some sort of power socket, however the short lived quest was unsuccessful. She considered going to find someone to ask for help, but she didn’t even know who to ask about that sort of thing.  
That’s when she saw something brown out of the corner of her eye; Loki’s journal. It was still hiding under her pillow, she had forgotten about it or just pushed it to the further most corners of her mind, she choose not to decide which one. She hesitantly reached for the old leather bound diary, not sure if she wanted to delve further into Loki’s mind, and consequently, his humanity. She felt a chill when she gently run her fingers along the spine. She decided she would keep reading it, all of it. This could help her understand something she’d wondered since she was 11 years old and her world was completely turned upside down. She read already gone through some of it there was no point turning back now.  
She took a deep breath before opening the delicate pages and started...

 

_Today was Thor’s coming of age ceremony. He wore father’s old robes from his own ceremony, despite my ceremony in the coming months I know I will not be wearing them after Thor. Everyone is telling Thor what a great king he will be. A fierce king A strong king A mighty king A proud king A rightful king A worthy king A deserving king A true king, Asgard’s true king. Then what of me?_

_\---_

_I spent the night with Thor, Sif and Hogun in his village in Vanaheim. I watched as they practised fighting for hours. They are all skilled in different ways, but fairly evenly matched. Thor is strong and well built, he gets hit the most but he can handle it the best too, ready to fight back just as hard when they’re not ready for it. Hogun is the quickest, he weaves in between them both with speed and grace, only striking when will be effective and necessary. Sif is best to watch, she is agile and cunning, but considerably powerful. She isn't as strong as Thor or as quick as Hogun but she uses her strengths well, and weaknesses better. She uses her femininity to advantage, people underestimate her and she lets them do so to bring their own demise. Thor and Hogun both know her far too well for this now, but I've seen her use it on others in battle. I watched and watched as she twirled fiercely, a blur of brown and gold. It was beautiful._

_\---_

_We spend every second weekend like this, the four of us. Mostly I sit and watch, drawing or writing, but other times I join in with magic. They don’t mind at all either, even after I’d learnt to duplicate myself and really confused them, we all muck around in good fun. Now I have a second place where I can use my magic and not be judged for it. In fact I may have been the judging one, these are my friends, not just for Thor but for me too._

_\---_

_While Thor and Hogun played with his younger siblings Sif came over to me and asked me to practice fighting with her. I didn’t understand at first, but then she said she wanted to improve her blocks and speed not hits, so she just needed attackers and targets. She practised her dodges and I practised my magic, I was even able to duplicate her after a while, that was quite a surprise for her. After a few hours she stopped me and told me she’d teach me to punch. I was already taught how I just prefer not to, but I didn’t tell her that. She showed me basic punches, blocks and kicks; I knew the technique of them all but I was so out of practice I didn’t need to pretend at all like I was struggling. An hour of arms grazing, hands guiding hands and shy smiles later we were finally getting tired. We walked to the end of the village and sat at the small lake and put our feet in the water. We talked for a long time, about a lot of things. Her father didn’t approve of her choosing a life of combat and war and made sure she knew about it at every possible chance. I told her that my father did not approve of my lack of a combat life and she jested that we should swap bodies. So I switched us around and she laughed gently with me. Thor and Hogun later arrived and we all fell asleep under the stars._

_\---_

_I came of age yesterday. The ceremony was just as large as Thor’s, with just as many people all smiling as I walked by. The speech my father gave was mostly the same. The congratulation from my mother was just as heartfelt and sincere. Our friends all cheered on as inappropriately as at Thor’s. Yet I was not told how I would be a great king, or even a bad king. I did not wear my father’s old robes either; I wore my mother’s fathers, a great man but not a king. Later in the night was the banquet and ball, we all dressed in our formal clothing and ate and drank and danced until we could no more. Several ladies asked me to dance, but the one I was looking for wasn’t to be seen. Thor eventually dragged me out and with Hogun and two new friends we had made, one still holding a chicken wing as he danced, and the other with two girls on each arm while he winked at a third. We thrashed around for a while as the orchestra played something fast, but eventually Hogun left with Volstagg to stay at his home, and Fandral and a lady friend to his quarters. Thor and I retired to the banquet table to mother and father. We all talked to each other as the party died down._   
_Then Sif arrived, in a deep green silky gown to her ankles that looked like a sea of emeralds. She walked over to Thor and I, explaining her tardiness being at the hands of an uncooperative horse. I pulled a small leaf from her hair and she congratulated me with a kiss on the cheek, greatly improving my night. We three ate and talked long after most had headed home, being the last except some unconscious and intoxicated patrons. We decided to call it a night, Sif assured us she could get home safely so we left it. By the time I got back to my room I had seconds thoughts about leaving her to get back alone, as mighty as she is a group may be enough to harm her and that was too much of a risk. I hurried out after her to try and accompany her to her house, hoping she would ignore her strong pride and allow me to._   
_I was about to walk down the stairs when an odd noise made me stop, that’s when saw her and Thor kissing passionately at the bottom._   
  
_Her dress no longer shone like emeralds, but of envy and something else Thor had that I never would._

\---  

Darcy slammed the book shut and threw it towards the other side of the bed. She was so conflicted about what she was reading. He was good once, he really was. She kept thinking about it, reminding herself ‘but he wasn't good in the end’. Reading this was bringing up so many feelings that she had tried not to allow herself to feel. Suddenly she didn’t even know if she wanted to answers she once needed so desperately, now that she was so close she didn’t know if she could even handle it. She knew why he ticked in the end, the general story. Adopted son is brought up to hate his own species, and taught to reach for the throne when they knew he would likely never possess it. Sure it was a sad enough story, even a real tear jerker if you add some sad music and baby photos, but it doesn't excuse taking the lives of nearly two hundred people. But now? After reading all of this she was starting to really feel sorry for him. It wasn't just finding out that he was adopted and a frost giant, he was always out of place and always coming second to Thor and had no idea why. She still wasn't excusing anything, but she couldn't help but wonder and wonder. What if someone had grabbed him when he was a kid, looked him in the eye and told him he was just fine the way he was and that yeah, he won’t be king but that’s okay. Maybe told him his magic was cool or given him a copy of Harry Potter or something, it definitely helped her as a kid. What if things were different for him? Would he still have turned out the same if he had grown up differently? Can someone be born evil or is it taught and conditioned? She was thinking too fast and her breathing was getting too rapid and uneasy, if she didn’t calm down soon the walls were going to start closing in around her. Darcy needed to get out of her head before her thoughts drew too close to her past, and there was no turning back.

\---

She wandered around for a few hours until it was around time for dinner to be served. She was the first person there and while she could see people scurrying around in the kitchen, there was only the constant bread and fruit laid out. As she reached for a small brown roll she wondered how it was replenished, she had never seen anyone replace anything, yet there was always a steady supply. Did the kitchen staff wait for no one to be around and sneak out? Was it some sort of Hogwarts type thing? It’s not out of the question, she’s established the both Loki and Frigga could perform magic, granted they're both dead, but others must be able to as well, right? Or perhaps it was just a coincidence; she hadn't really been out there that often, it was probably more than possible it just happened when she was elsewhere.

“Uh what is it you’re doing, Lady Darcy?” She looked up to see that the concerned voice came from Hogun, accompanied by an even more curious looking Sif. She looked around to see what they were talking about and noticed she had be absent mindedly picking off chunks of bread and a pile of crumbs was now scattered on the table.

“Huh, I didn’t even notice...” She trailed off, remembering what was written about Sif in the journal. She couldn't help but feel slight annoyance at her for Loki’s sake. She quickly dismissed it though, it wasn't her fault she didn’t return his feeling, if she was to judge Sif for this then she would just be as bad as the tools she had once encountered who claimed to be ‘friendzoned’ by her. In fact as hurt Loki had been by it, from what she had read he didn’t seem to blame Sif, or even Thor as jealous as he was. She smiled at them both as they sat down next to her.

“So what did you guys get up to today? Slay any giant otherworldly beasts or forge new armour from heart of a volcano?” She grimaced as she spoke, it was meant to come off more jolly and encouraging than sarcastic and mildly offensive, which with her tone and their lack of Midgardian customs, it most likely did.

“Nothing that exiting today I’m afraid, I joined Hogun in his village today and helped with the rebuilding. Though I did manage to get back before Hogun’s mother made me take home the usual and unnecessary amount of voogle cake and leftovers. That itself is a similar feat to slaying large creatures.” She laughed as she tried getting out the last sentence, and Hogun just rolled his eyes, also laughing.

“What’s voogle cake? Is that really bad or something?” Darcy asked, glad they were being so friendly towards her.

“Voogle is a fruit found on Vanaheim, there is an abundance of them just outside our village so it’s often used in cooking and basic medicine. It has a thick outside shell that we grind up and mixed with the fruit from the inside and a little water to add sweetness and consistency. It’s actually very nice, however my mother gives several loafs to any guests we receive," he looked at Sif and smiled, “sometimes that can be too much if you visit as often as Sif.”

“Wow that sounds like my sort of cake. Two ingredients and easy, most of the time I stuff up box mixes, Jane and Erik have even banned me from using the oven for anything other than frozen pizza and chicken nuggets.” She grinned, thinking of the memory.

“Well we’ll bring you back some next time. She’d be delighted that a Midgardian is trying some, we've all been eating them since we were kinds, I bet she’d love a fresh opinion.” Sif offered enthusiastically.

“Oh, that’s really nice of you- I mean you don’t have to or anything- just like only if you want and stuff, if you want it would be really cool.” She fumbled around, trying to say thank you for a cake someone has too much of shouldn’t be this difficult.

“It is no problem. Sif’s right, my mother would be very happy to give some more away” Hogun replied. “She’d really like an outsider’s opinion, even if it’s from an Asgardian? Aren't we supposed to be the lesser species or something like that?” She regretted it the instant it left her mouth; they both tensed up and looked offended. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you, oh god or insult your mother, I am so sorry!!”

“That’s okay, Darcy, I know you didn’t mean to offend.” Hogun said sincerely, and then Sif cut in, “We aren't offended. You mean because of Odin? I can see why you would think that but most Midgardian’s really don’t look down on Asgardians.”

“Oh well actually I sorta meant the crazy horned one who broke two of our cities and tried to become our ruler and stuff...” Darcy replied awkwardly.

“Ah, Loki,” Hogun sighed, “the way he acted is definitely not how we care to act, Loki was not himse-“

“Don’t tell her that. We don’t know anything, and we shouldn’t speculate!” Sif cut him off harshly.

“Wait, what do you mean by that? Did something happen...or someone?” Darcy urged.

“Ignore us, there is nothing to be said.” Hogun spoke, looking down.

“No please tell me. I was in both of places he attacked; I want to be able to make sense of it.” She pleaded, “You were all friends as kids, was he always like that?” Darcy new she was heading into dangerous territory. Bombarding them with questions, telling them she knows they have been friends since they were children. She can always say Thor told her, she had assumed as much anyway, but it’s still a gamble. They probably don’t want to talk about him anyway, he was their friend too and now he’s dead, she couldn't blame them for not wanting to discuss it.

“Loki was always an outsider to most on Asgard but he was never filled with hatred because of it, sadness maybe, but not hatred. Until he found out where he came from, it was just too much. So when Thor destroyed the Bifrost to save Jotunheim and Loki let go he was still filled with that hatred and whatever happened, wherever he fell to and however he survived it amplified that hatred.” Sif explained, “Except like I said, that’s just speculation. Maybe he was always ‘crazy’ and just very good at hiding it. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Darcy didn’t know what to say to that. I’m sorry that happened? I’m sorry I asked and made you go through that again? They sat in silence for a while, and then the food was brought out. Odin did not join them tonight and Thor and Jane were still away, though thankfully Fandral, Volstagg and some others showed up and broke the tension. She wasn't hungry but slowly finished her plate anyway, her mind elsewhere.  
As everything was starting to become clearer, she was becoming more and more confused. Something just didn’t feel right...


	8. Ice Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Loki watch Frozen together :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another update!  
> I know I said every week or so, and it's been nearly a month (sorry!) but my latop (or I should say my brother's laptop that I steal) finally crashed.  
> Luckily I had all my stuff on the thumbdrive, well except for a few new chapters, which sucks but what can you do?  
> Anyway, I'd been saving up and finally bought myself a new laptop (yay!) and will be updating regularly again!
> 
> Thanks for anyone who's been reading so far, over 1000 now :)  
> Please enjoy and have a fab day, and if you want please comment! xoxo

Chapter 8:  
It had been several days since Loki and the mortal girl had spent the evening together in the kitchen. He knew it was for the best but he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed that he hadn’t run into her again during the night. He stayed a little later than everyone else in the dining hall most nights, telling himself it had nothing to do with her. On the sixth night his luck changed. He was turning a corner on his way back to his room when he walked directly into her.

“We really need to stop meeting like this.” She joked, but he tensed up when she said it and it didn’t go unnoticed. “Shit, that was a stupid thing to say, sorry it’s a saying on Earth.”

She blushed and looked down at her feet. He couldn’t help but think it was....cute. How did one human have such an effect on him? He put it down to too much wine at diner and ignored it.

“I’m aware of the saying.” He looked around, not sure what to say or do, “would you like another slice of cake?”

“I thought you’d never ask...”

\---

“No way! He stole a horse? You’re kidding right?!” Darcy yelled with excitement.

“I’m not kidding, he was what would have been about eleven on earth and angry he wasn’t allowed to go into battle yet so he stole a horse,” he let out a small laugh indulging in the nostalgia, “the best part though, he refused to steal a horse of the royal house because he didn’t want to rely on us at all, so he walked all the way to an outside village and stole a farmers horse.“

“That’s hysterical!” She choked out in between laughs, “but I can totally see him doing it, he can be so stubborn.”

“You’re telling me, try living with him!” Loki joked.

“You two sound more like siblings than father and son, its sweet.” 

Loki froze. Siblings? Was he really being that obvious? He thought she would have been the last person to know it was him, but was he wrong? Had he underestimated how much time she was spending with Thor and what she knew about them both? What if Thor had told her things about him, as in Loki him and he’s one late-night-cake-eating-storytelling-session away from telling her the same thing. Should he just stop talking to her altogether? It was the most logical explanation, yet a part of him hated the idea. He settled on gradually talking to her less. It had nothing to do with wanting to keep seeing her, really, it would be weird if he just panicked and ran out now. This was the best way to keep from drawing any suspicion. She prodded his arm, pulling him from his thoughts.

“You in there? I was just kidding, no need to freeze up!” She smiled at him, “wait a second speaking of freezing, have you seen Frozen? Wait I’m guessing the don’t have earth movies here...unless it’s like that Futurama episode where the aliens get the shows years later and they’re still watching Ally McBeal? Okay, tell me Friends has been this way yet!?” She was off in another one of her 'earth lingo' tangents as she called them one day. She seemed back to her normal, incoherent self and that put him at ease and made him smile.

“I’d like to think I have a fairly good grasp on Midgard terms, but I didn’t understand a single thing you just said...” 

“You know what, what better way to explain than to actually show you.” She asked giddily.

“I don’t know what’s happening and I’m a little frightened.” Loki joked.

“Glad to know I’m keeping Asgard’s fearless leader on his toes.” She winked at him and jumped up, “just stay here I’ll be right back!”  
Before he could respond she had bounced out the door, probably louder than she should have for the middle of the night.

\---

When she came back she was holding, or more accurately, struggling to hold a huge armful of pillows, an earth portable computer and a flat, blue rectangle. Instead of joining him on the stools she piled up the pillows against the wall and sat down, fiddling with the computer. She looked up and smiled at him, gesturing for him to join her. The screen suddenly light up and shined bright blue against her face.  
He sat down next to her trying not to lean too close to her, which was a little difficult in such a small space.

"Okay so I should probably mention before it starts, it's a Disney movie, which are for kids but most adults like them anyway. All I'm saying is don't take it was too seriously, y'now?" She was starting to look nervous as she spoke, was she actually worried he wouldn't like it?  
"I'm still not actually sure what you're showing me, but I'm sure I'll like it."

With that she started the movie, the blue screen started moving and sweet music played while a castle came to life. She seemed almost soothed when it started, perhaps something of nostalgia.

\---

"What?!" Loki shouted before he could stop himself.

"Right? He just betrays her, how can you want to hurt Anna she's adorable!"

"I honestly did not see that coming.."

"And then he tries to pin everything on Elsa, like she hasn't been through enough?" Darcy squeaked, "it's not her fault she was born with powers she can't help, not to mention no one even tells her just how awesome her powers are."

"You think her powers are good? Loki asked.

"Are you serious? What's not good? She can make anything into ice, change the weather and totally stab her enemies just with the lift of her arm. Living the dream, man."

He smiled at her quizzically.

"C'mon let's watch the rest." She smiled back and nudged hims arm, "Shit, I thought I was cold but you're freezing!"

She had no idea what she was saying, he had to laugh. He had been so worried about how much she knew, if she was catching on his secret but she was clueless about it. He smiled, feeling a sense of comfort. He un-buckled the cape latch from the front of his neck and pulled the large heavy cape from his back and draped over Darcy like a blanket.

"Dude I'm fine, plus I'm pretty sure you need it more than I do."

"I'll be fine, Asgardians just have very cold skin."

"Let's just share." She moved closer to his side and pulled half the blanket-cape over him.

By the time the movie was over she had dosed of and was softly snoring on his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't super happy with this chapter, but I really wanted to put something up, and be able to move on to the next one cause I'm starting to get really exited with where I plan to take this :)
> 
> I might go back later to change a couple off bits anyway :3  
> What did you think of the chapter?
> 
> Thanks for reading! xoxox


	9. Love Thy Father

Darcy smiled as she closed her laptop, she had just finished watching Princess and the Frog. It was lucky she had almost every Disney movie on her hard drive, because watching Frozen with Odin definitely gave her the bug. It was pretty good timing too, as it turned out Asgardian weddings were pretty traditional so there really weren't many bridesmaid jobs for her to do. The wedding was only a week away and she was getting pretty excited. She'd picked out her dress and practised doing her hair a few different ways. She was ready to rock. And so was Jane, her dress was custom made for her by the best tailor there. She looked so stunning Darcy nearly cried when she saw her. The dress was floor length with a long train, it was a rose pink lace with shimmering flecks. She joked that it looked like rose gold, until she touched it an realised the flecks actually were, or at least an Asgaridan version. It suited her figure and complexion perfectly. Her dress was much simpler; black, tight at the top, loose at the bottom, boobs lookin' perfect.

She placed her laptop on the floor and stretched out on the bed. She considered walking around for a bit, seeing what everyone else was doing today, but she knew she'd only end up back in her room reading. She had to, she needed to finish it.  
It wasn't the the sort of writing you could skim over when you're on the train. This was the diary of someone who would end up trying to take over the world. If you found Hitler's diary would you just browse over it? No.  
She cringed a little. It felt wrong comparing Loki to Hitler but it was probably fairly accurate, even if Loki didn't cause nearly as many deaths.

She stopped kidding herself and grabbed the diary from her suitcase.

\---

Six months ago Alfheim declared war against Asgard.  
The fighting and chaos has been relentless.  
At first Thor and I were not permitted to take part.  
Thor was outraged, and I acted so too but I wasn't.  
I did not want to fight. I'm not a good fighter, or soldier.  
The violence is needless and no one in either realms wants it.

Only the two rulers.

Odin has preached to his people about how we must be strong and fight back, but he has not even tried to form a truce.  
I would never tell him this, or even Thor, but I think he's purposefully making it worse because we only just won the last war.  
He thinks he needs this war so he can win it and show the other realms we aren't weak and won't be beaten.  
I understand his motives and I know that he only wants what is best for us, but at what cost? How many lives?

\---

That was kind of strange, Darcy had never heard of this war before. Thor had never spoken about it, and once Thor started talking about Asgard there was no stopping him. Seriously. She could probably tell you more and about Asgard's history than China's at this point from all of Thor's stories, but this certainly wasn't one of them.

\---

It's only gotten worse. nearly everyone has been recruited and almost forced to fight.  
This isn't what Asgard is suppose to be like.

Free choice. That's what sets us apart from Alfheim and other realms like it. Our choices.   
We aren't better than their people, not smarter, or stronger, or richer, but we have the choices they don't get to make.

But we don't anymore

\---

Today is my first day in battle. Real battle.  
I thought what father showed us before was battle, but it wasn't. It was barely a dispute.  
Each day more bodies are brought back and more fresh soldiers leave.  
Today Thor and I join them. Though we aren't high enough rank we will fight beside father.  
There have been whispers about the unfairness of that. Us getting special protection.

They're right, but I don't care. I wan't the protection.

I'm scared.

\---

the 'protection' didnt help  
its hard to protect when your ruler is the danger  
it wasn't a battlefield it was a massacre  
they didnt have any soldiers left just boys  
boys younger than thor and i  
boys who wanted to be there even less than i  
boys who pleaded for their lives  
boys who wont be remembered

there are only a few left by the end of it  
with a move of his hand they are gone  
all but one

i don't understand at first  
when he's handing me the knife  
"you didn't fight, you need to learn"  
his eye's are fierce  
thor wont look at me  
he shoves the knife at me again  
no i wont do it but he wont listen  
the boy is the youngest that ive seen  
hes begging me to stop but im not doing anything  
i wont

but i do  
im saying no over and over but im doing it  
odin is holding my hand but im still the one doing it

then the pleading stops and the blood is everywhere

\---

Darcy crawled back and pressed herself against the headboard, clutching the book to her chest.

Holy shit.

She didn't even know what else to think. How could everyone that was there allow that? How can Thor still look at his father? Why didn't Thor have to do that? Has Odin always had it out for Loki or did he really think he was helping? Was that even the worst of it?  
She frantically flipped through the pages, but that was the last entry.  
That must have been a turning point for him, right? How could that not change a person. She could even see the writing change. There was no punctuation or grammar. Just the words in head that found their way to the paper. She could see, no read, him as he broke. She was starting to sympathize with him before but this was another thing entirely. She couldn't even think straight.

So she started walking, and before she could stop herself she was at the cells in the prison below the main building.  
She momentarily wondered why there weren't any guards around but then remembered something Thor said about the cells being so strong and Heimdall always watching, they weren't needed. She ignored her thoughts and walked deeper within the prison.  
She could vaguely hear the taunts and yells from prisoners, but she was so transfixed she didn't even register what they were saying.

She kept walking until she could see it, Loki's cell. She had no idea how she knew it was his, but she could just tell it was. It was vacant, but all the furniture was thrown about. There was even a dark red smear on the floor she hoped wasn't blood.  
She put her hand up against the glass-like barrier, but it went straight through.  
There was a roar from the prisoners across from her, who looked amazed and must have wanted her to try and free them.  
She ignored them and walked her whole body through the barrier. She felt a slight tingle, but nothing else.  
She sat on the floor and stared out the cell, trying to look through Loki's eyes.

She traced her fingers across the floor next to her, she could feel grooves in the concrete. She looked down to see a single word gouged into the surface.

'why?'

\---

"Darcy, what are you doing?"

She looked up slowly to see Odin staring at her, shocked. There were two confused looking guards standing behind him.

"How did you get in here?" He didn't sound angry.

"I just walked in.." She didn't want to look at him, or explain herself to him.

"That's not possible"

"I don't think he was a monster." She whispered, barely audible.

"What?" He went pale.

"Loki. I don't think he was a monster." She spoke loudly and clearly, looking at him with a fierce sincerity.

Then she realised. Loki wasn't a monster, but Odin certainly was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated a little later than I said, but I thought it would be better to take a few days and make sure I was happy with it, which I think I am :)  
> still don't have a beta so if there are any mistakes I'm sorry, feel free to let me know and I'll fix em up.
> 
> Also everyone seems to put their tumblr's on here, so I'll do the same: mystic--spiral.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks everyone for reading! Hope y'all had a fabulous Halloween c:  
> If you liked this chapter, feel free to comment and say hi! :3


	10. Chapter 10

Loki was leaving his quarters to checking on his horses in the stables when a messaging guard came running to his side, out of breath.

"Sir, Hiemdall has asked me to deliver you a message." The guard informed him. 

"Can it wait? I was just about to go for a ride." Loki asked.

"I'm afraid not. It's urgent." The guard replied nervously, avoiding eye contact.

That got Loki's attention. As attentive about his disguise he was, he was always weary of Heimdall. 

"What is it?"

"Sir, there's been a breach in the prison...sort of."

\---

Loki was at the prison within minutes, the messenger swapped for two combat trained guards, with more on their way. As he walked closer and closer towards to cell that once confined him, the knot in in stomach grew. Heimdall knew, he must have figured it out. Was this his plan to 'out' Loki? bring him back here and play chicken, perhaps. Or just gauge his reaction? Or maybe just chuck him back in the cell all together?  
However when he reached his cell, his state of panic and nausea was replaced with sheer confusion. He was duly under-prepared for what he was met with.

Darcy was sitting in a ball on the floor of his cell. Inside his cell, which shouldn't be possible. She was just staring at nothing, her expression was completely blank.  
One of the guards opened the force field and Loki walked in an stood just in front of Darcy. The other guard walked in towards her, restraints in his hand.

"No. That wont be necessary." He help up his arm to cut off the guard. 

He tried to ask her what she was doing, but she was almost unresponsive and she didn't make sense anyway. No one could just walk in here.

"I don't think he's a monster." She barley whispered, still staring blankly ahead.

"What?" He asked, scared of the answer.

She looked up, her blank expression now gone.

"Loki, I don't think he was a monster."

He stopped. The way she said his name made his stomach twist. And then he registered everything else she said. She doesn't think him a monster? Why? Where was all this coming from? He destroyed the city she occupied, twice. He tried to rule her world.

He started to notice just all the commotion this was causing with the other prisoners.

"You two can go now. I will take her back to her quarters immediately." Loki instructed.

"Sir, shouldn't we arrest her? She broke into th-"

"That's enough! You are both dismissed and this wont be spoken of again to anyone." He scolded.

He waited until they left, and knelt down in front of Darcy.

"Darcy, I'm not sure why you're here, or how you even got in but you need to leave now, the other prisoners will surely soon riot." He spoke to her softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

She flinched as he did this, but got up anyway.

"I'm sorry, I will go back to my room now." Her tone was void, and she wouldn't look at him.

"Yes, get some rest. We will talk about this tomorrow." He replied as she walked away from him.

He looked back at the cell before he left, it was exactly as he had left it. Books and furniture thrown across the place, smudges on the walls, some of his blood left on the floor,   
and most painful to see, the words he carved into the floor after he heard the news of his mother.

\---

"I don't understand, how did she get into the cell?" Loki asked, very confused.

"I may be able to answer that."

"Not too long ago Frigga came to me with a secret to keep. As you know, being the most powerful with magic, Frigga was responsible for the design of the prison and the charms in place."

"Yes, it's how we met many years ago." A story Loki had heard many times from his mother.

"Well when Loki was captured and brought back to Midgard, Frigga changed the charm on his cell. That in the event she passed, the only person to be able to open the cell would be the one with understanding and good intentions for him, someone to free him."

"She thought if she passed I would have had him executed." He should have felt relief that Frigga cared enough to defy and lie to Odin, but he only felt more guilt. She cared about him so much, and he knew it really. He just didn't let himself believe so he pushed her away and she died thinking he hated her. He wished she hadn't cared for him.

"Yes. The charm would stop anyone from letting him out if they had the intention of harming him but it's more than that. When I say 'free' I don't just mean physically freeing him from the prison, she meant freeing him from his past sins and mistakes. She believed when Thor became king, he would be able to bring Loki back to the path of good and would release him. This is why Thor was able to let Loki out when Malakief attacked. I did not think anyone but Thor would be able to get through, but perhaps there is another also."

"So that's why the cell is just as is was when he was last in there? Because no one could get in to change it?" Lokie asked, then realised what else Heimdall was saying, "Darcy? She's never even met Loki."

"Yes, and that may be true, but we both heard what she said about him in there. She believes there to be a connection, even if there isn't one, the charm may have sensed her intentions."

"Well it's a shame Loki isn't here to see these displays."

"Yes, it's a shame he's not here."

There was something about the way Heimdall looked at him when he said that, but he ignored it. He had more than enough to over analyse for one day.

\---

It was almost night time when Loki started heading back to the castle.  
His mind was full with thoughts of the day's events. Was everything Heimdall was say true? Did this girl really think she had some connection with him?   
He could no loner deny that he was growing fond of her but she didn't even know he wasn't Odin, not to mention she looked horrified by him in the prison.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear someone walking right towards him. 

"Oh Lady Jane, my apologies I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He smiled apologetically.

"No worries, we're both guilty of that." She laughed, gesturing to the books she had dropped on the floor. He picked them up for her. "Oh thank you! Have a good night."

"Wait, Jane." He yelled after her as she started to walk way. "Have you seen Darcy today?"

"No, why what has she done now?" Jane started to laugh, but her smile dissolved when she noticed Loki's un comfortable expression.

"It's nothing to worry about really, she just got lost today and ended up down in the prisons. Would you drop by her quarters before you retire for the night? I think she could use a friendly face."

"Of course, thank you for letting me know. I'm sure she wouldn't have, especially if it upset her. " Jane sighed. "She's too stubborn sometimes."

"If you don't like stubborn, you may want to reconsider your plans to marry Thor." He smiled, as he joked with her.

"Oh I know, he's just as bad as her but I think it's a little late to back out now." She laughed.

"I know I have been resistant to you and Thor, but I want to you to understand why. I see how happy you make him, and if you were of Asgard, I would see no one fitter to wed Thor."

"Thank you, I really appreciate you say that. I know I wont be around forever, but I will make sure the time we have together is worth the pain it will cause."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am literally the worst. That's all I have to say for how late this was.
> 
> I'm really going to try a lot harder to get these out sooner! I work at a school so I will have the whole summer to work on it so it really should be a lot more frequent.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for putting up with me and I hope you enjoyed this one :)  
> Things are going to heat up pretty soon...and I'm planning on doing a big Christmas chapter with all the Avenger's and their shenanigans :)
> 
> Thanks for reading and your comments! They literally brighten my day :3
> 
> Stay safe, comrades! xo


End file.
